News in brief

European Voice

2/25/09, 5:00 PM CET

Updated 4/12/14, 5:25 PM CET

Helping Afghanistan

EU foreign ministers pledged to boost Eupol, the EU’s police mission in Afghanistan, which is currently at about half of its target strength of 400 officers, and to “examine urgent options for increasing European support” to Afghanistan in other areas, according to the Czech presidency of the EU. At their monthly meeting on Monday (23 February), foreign ministers also agreed that the EU should help fund Afghanistan’s elections in August and dispatch a “substantial” monitoring mission.

Overseeing Bosnia

EU foreign ministers agreed on Monday to support Valentin Inzko, Austria’s ambassador to Slovenia, as high representative of the international community to Bosnia and Herzegovina and the EU’s special representative. The previous frontrunner, British diplomat Emyr Jones Parry, faced Russian opposition. The opinion of non-EU members, the United States, Turkey and Russia, will be canvassed in the coming days.

Green ‘Oscars’

Stockholm and Hamburg were named on Monday as Europe’s first-ever ’green capitals’, a new award from the European Commission to encourage environmentally-friendly city living. Budapest was named winner of the 2008 European Mobility Week award, in recognition of its efforts to promote green transport during the Commission-led mobility week.

Mercury falling

Environment ministers from 140 countries have agreed to set up a global treaty to stop mercury pollution. Negotiations will start next year, with the aim of adopting the treaty in 2013. The outcome of the United Nations Environment Programme meeting on 20 February was hailed by the Czech presidency as “a success for the EU”, which agreed its mercury strategy in 2005.

Preventing disasters

National governments should work together to prevent natural disasters such as floods and forest fires, which are likely to become more intense as climate change intensifies, according to a paper published by the Commission on Monday. In another paper published on the same day, the Commission called for the EU to help developing countries prevent disasters by sharing data and building weather satellites.